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{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.15.1507;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\lang1033\b\f0\fs24 THE PURLOINED LETTER\par
\b0\par
Nil sapientiae odiosius acumine nimio.\par
\par
                                \i Seneca\i0\par
\par
    At Paris, just after dark one gusty evening in the autumn of 18-,\par
I was enjoying the twofold luxury of meditation and a meerschaum, in\par
company with my friend C. Auguste Dupin, in his little back library,\par
or book-closet, au troisi\'e8me, No. 33, Rue Dun\'c3\'99t, Faubourg St.\par
Germain. For one hour at least we had maintained a profound silence;\par
while each, to any casual observer, might have seemed intently and\par
exclusively occupied with the curling eddies of smoke that oppressed\par
the atmosphere of the chamber. For myself, however, I was mentally\par
discussing certain topics which had formed matter for conversation\par
between us at an earlier period of the evening; I mean the affair of\par
the Rue Morgue, and the mystery attending the murder of Marie Rog\'e8t.\par
I looked upon it, therefore, as something of a coincidence, when the\par
door of our apartment was thrown open and admitted our old\par
acquaintance, Monsieur G--, the Prefect of the Parisian police.\par
\par
We gave him a hearty welcome; for there was nearly half as much of\par
the entertaining as of the contemptible about the man, and we had not\par
seen him for several years. We had been sitting in the dark, and\par
Dupin now arose for the purpose of lighting a lamp, but sat down\par
again, without doing so, upon G.'s saying that he had called to\par
consult us, or rather to ask the opinion of my friend, about some\par
official business which had occasioned a great deal of trouble.\par
\par
"If it is any point requiring reflection," observed Dupin, as he\par
forebore to enkindle the wick, "we shall examine it to better purpose\par
in the dark."\par
\par
"That is another of your odd notions," said the Prefect, who had a\par
fashion of calling every thing "odd" that was beyond his comprehension,\par
and thus lived amid an absolute legion of "oddities."\par
\par
"Very true," said Dupin, as he supplied his visiter with a pipe, and\par
rolled towards him a comfortable chair.\par
\par
"And what is the difficulty now?" I asked. "Nothing more in the\par
assassination way, I hope?"\par
\par
"Oh no; nothing of that nature. The fact is, the business is very\par
simple indeed, and I make no doubt that we can manage it sufficiently\par
well ourselves; but then I thought Dupin would like to hear the\par
details of it, because it is so excessively odd."\par
\par
"Simple and odd," said Dupin.\par
\par
"Why, yes; and not exactly that, either. The fact is, we have all\par
been a good deal puzzled because the affair is so simple, and yet\par
baffles us altogether."\par
\par
"Perhaps it is the very simplicity of the thing which puts you at\par
fault," said my friend.\par
\par
"What nonsense you do talk!" replied the Prefect, laughing heartily.\par
\par
"Perhaps the mystery is a little too plain," said Dupin.\par
\par
"Oh, good heavens! who ever heard of such an idea?"\par
\par
"A little too self-evident."\par
\par
"Ha! ha! ha - ha! ha! ha! - ho! ho! ho!" roared our visiter,\par
profoundly amused, "oh, Dupin, you will be the death of me yet!"\par
\par
"And what, after all, is the matter on hand?" I asked.\par
\par
"Why, I will tell you," replied the Prefect, as he gave a long,\par
steady and contemplative puff, and settled himself in his chair. "I\par
will tell you in a few words; but, before I begin, let me caution you\par
that this is an affair demanding the greatest secrecy, and that I\par
should most probably lose the position I now hold, were it known that\par
I confided it to any one."\par
\par
"Proceed," said I.\par
\par
"Or not," said Dupin.\par
\par
"Well, then; I have received personal information, from a very high\par
quarter, that a certain document of the last importance, has been\par
purloined from the royal apartments. The individual who purloined it\par
is known; this beyond a doubt; he was seen to take it. It is known,\par
also, that it still remains in his possession."\par
\par
"How is this known?" asked Dupin.\par
\par
"It is clearly inferred," replied the Prefect, "from the nature of\par
the document, and from the non-appearance of certain results which\par
would at once arise from its passing out of the robber's possession;\par
that is to say, from his employing it as he must design in the end to\par
employ it."\par
\par
"Be a little more explicit," I said.\par
\par
"Well, I may venture so far as to say that the paper gives its holder\par
a certain power in a certain quarter where such power is immensely\par
valuable." The Prefect was fond of the cant of diplomacy.\par
\par
"Still I do not quite understand," said Dupin.\par
\par
"No? Well; the disclosure of the document to a third person, who\par
shall be nameless, would bring in question the honor of a personage\par
of most exalted station; and this fact gives the holder of the\par
document an ascendancy over the illustrious personage whose honor and\par
peace are so jeopardized."\par
\par
"But this ascendancy," I interposed, "would depend upon the robber's\par
knowledge of the loser's knowledge of the robber. Who would dare -"\par
\par
"The thief," said G., "is the Minister D--, who dares all things,\par
those unbecoming as well as those becoming a man. The method of the\par
theft was not less ingenious than bold. The document in question - a\par
letter, to be frank - had been received by the personage robbed while\par
alone in the royal boudoir. During its perusal she was suddenly\par
interrupted by the entrance of the other exalted personage from whom\par
especially it was her wish to conceal it. After a hurried and vain\par
endeavor to thrust it in a drawer, she was forced to place it, open\par
as it was, upon a table. The address, however, was uppermost, and,\par
the contents thus unexposed, the letter escaped notice. At this\par
juncture enters the Minister D--. His lynx eye immediately perceives\par
the paper, recognises the handwriting of the address, observes the\par
confusion of the personage addressed, and fathoms her secret. After\par
some business transactions, hurried through in his ordinary manner,\par
he produces a letter somewhat similar to the one in question, opens\par
it, pretends to read it, and then places it in close juxtaposition to\par
the other. Again he converses, for some fifteen minutes, upon the\par
public affairs. At length, in taking leave, he takes also from the\par
table the letter to which he had no claim. Its rightful owner saw,\par
but, of course, dared not call attention to the act, in the presence\par
of the third personage who stood at her elbow. The minister decamped;\par
leaving his own letter - one of no importance - upon the table."\par
\par
"Here, then," said Dupin to me, "you have precisely what you demand\par
to make the ascendancy complete - the robber's knowledge of the\par
loser's knowledge of the robber."\par
\par
"Yes," replied the Prefect; "and the power thus attained has, for\par
some months past, been wielded, for political purposes, to a very\par
dangerous extent. The personage robbed is more thoroughly convinced,\par
every day, of the necessity of reclaiming her letter. But this, of\par
course, cannot be done openly. In fine, driven to despair, she has\par
committed the matter to me."\par
\par
"Than whom," said Dupin, amid a perfect whirlwind of smoke, "no more\par
sagacious agent could, I suppose, be desired, or even imagined."\par
\par
"You flatter me," replied the Prefect; "but it is possible that some\par
such opinion may have been entertained."\par
\par
"It is clear," said I, "as you observe, that the letter is still in\par
possession of the minister; since it is this possession, and not any\par
employment of the letter, which bestows the power. With the\par
employment the power departs."\par
\par
"True," said G.; "and upon this conviction I proceeded. My first care\par
was to make thorough search of the minister's hotel; and here my\par
chief embarrassment lay in the necessity of searching without his\par
knowledge. Beyond all things, I have been warned of the danger which\par
would result from giving him reason to suspect our design."\par
\par
"But," said I, "you are quite au fait in these investigations. The\par
Parisian police have done this thing often before."\par
\par
"O yes; and for this reason I did not despair. The habits of the\par
minister gave me, too, a great advantage. He is frequently absent\par
from home all night. His servants are by no means numerous. They\par
sleep at a distance from their master's apartment, and, being chiefly\par
Neapolitans, are readily made drunk. I have keys, as you know, with\par
which I can open any chamber or cabinet in Paris. For three months a\par
night has not passed, during the greater part of which I have not\par
been engaged, personally, in ransacking the D-- Hotel. My honor is\par
interested, and, to mention a great secret, the reward is enormous.\par
So I did not abandon the search until I had become fully satisfied\par
that the thief is a more astute man than myself. I fancy that I have\par
investigated every nook and corner of the premises in which it is\par
possible that the paper can be concealed."\par
\par
"But is it not possible," I suggested, "that although the letter may\par
be in possession of the minister, as it unquestionably is, he may\par
have concealed it elsewhere than upon his own premises?"\par
\par
"This is barely possible," said Dupin. "The present peculiar\par
condition of affairs at court, and especially of those intrigues in\par
which D-- is known to be involved, would render the instant\par
availability of the document - its susceptibility of being produced\par
at a moment's notice - a point of nearly equal importance with its\par
possession."\par
\par
"Its susceptibility of being produced?" said I.\par
\par
"That is to say, of being destroyed," said Dupin.\par
\par
"True," I observed; "the paper is clearly then upon the premises. As\par
for its being upon the person of the minister, we may consider that\par
as out of the question."\par
\par
"Entirely," said the Prefect. "He has been twice waylaid, as if by\par
footpads, and his person rigorously searched under my own\par
inspection."\par
\par
"You might have spared yourself this trouble," said Dupin. "D--, I\par
presume, is not altogether a fool, and, if not, must have anticipated\par
these waylayings, as a matter of course."\par
\par
"Not altogether a fool," said G., "but then he's a poet, which I take\par
to be only one remove from a fool."\par
\par
"True," said Dupin, after a long and thoughtful whiff from\par
\par
his meerschaum, "although I have been guilty of certain doggrel\par
myself."\par
\par
"Suppose you detail," said I, "the particulars of your search."\par
\par
"Why the fact is, we took our time, and we searched every where. I\par
have had long experience in these affairs. I took the entire\par
building, room by room; devoting the nights of a whole week to each.\par
We examined, first, the furniture of each apartment. We opened every\par
possible drawer; and I presume you know that, to a properly trained\par
police agent, such a thing as a secret drawer is impossible. Any man\par
is a dolt who permits a 'secret' drawer to escape him in a search of\par
this kind. The thing is so plain. There is a certain amount of bulk -\par
of space - to be accounted for in every cabinet. Then we have\par
accurate rules. The fiftieth part of a line could not escape us.\par
After the cabinets we took the chairs. The cushions we probed with\par
the fine long needles you have seen me employ. From the tables we\par
removed the tops."\par
\par
"Why so?"\par
\par
"Sometimes the top of a table, or other similarly arranged piece of\par
furniture, is removed by the person wishing to conceal an article;\par
then the leg is excavated, the article deposited within the cavity,\par
and the top replaced. The bottoms and tops of bedposts are employed\par
in the same way."\par
\par
"But could not the cavity be detected by sounding?" I asked.\par
\par
"By no means, if, when the article is deposited, a sufficient wadding\par
of cotton be placed around it. Besides, in our case, we were obliged\par
to proceed without noise."\par
\par
"But you could not have removed - you could not have taken to pieces\par
all articles of furniture in which it would have been possible to\par
make a deposit in the manner you mention. A letter may be compressed\par
into a thin spiral roll, not differing much in shape or bulk from a\par
large knitting-needle, and in this form it might be inserted into the\par
rung of a chair, for example. You did not take to pieces all the\par
chairs?"\par
\par
"Certainly not; but we did better - we examined the rungs of every\par
chair in the hotel, and, indeed the jointings of every description of\par
furniture, by the aid of a most powerful microscope. Had there been\par
any traces of recent disturbance we should not have failed to detect\par
it instantly. A single grain of gimlet-dust, for example, would have\par
been as obvious as an apple. Any disorder in the glueing - any unusual\par
gaping in the joints - would have sufficed to insure detection."\par
\par
"I presume you looked to the mirrors, between the boards and the\par
plates, and you probed the beds and the bed-clothes, as well as the\par
curtains and carpets."\par
\par
"That of course; and when we had absolutely completed every particle\par
of the furniture in this way, then we examined the house itself. We\par
divided its entire surface into compartments, which we numbered, so\par
that none might be missed; then we scrutinized each individual square\par
inch throughout the premises, including the two houses immediately\par
adjoining, with the microscope, as before."\par
\par
"The two houses adjoining!" I exclaimed; "you must have had a great\par
deal of trouble."\par
\par
"We had; but the reward offered is prodigious!"\par
\par
"You include the grounds about the houses?"\par
\par
"All the grounds are paved with brick. They gave us comparatively\par
little trouble. We examined the moss between the bricks, and found it\par
undisturbed."\par
\par
"You looked among D--'s papers, of course, and into the books of the\par
library?"\par
\par
"Certainly; we opened every package and parcel; we not only opened\par
every book, but we turned over every leaf in each volume, not\par
contenting ourselves with a mere shake, according to the fashion of\par
some of our police officers. We also measured the thickness of every\par
book-cover, with the most accurate admeasurement, and applied to each\par
the most jealous scrutiny of the microscope. Had any of the bindings\par
been recently meddled with, it would have been utterly impossible\par
that the fact should have escaped observation. Some five or six\par
volumes, just from the hands of the binder, we carefully probed,\par
longitudinally, with the needles."\par
\par
"You explored the floors beneath the carpets?"\par
\par
"Beyond doubt. We removed every carpet, and examined the boards with\par
the microscope."\par
\par
"And the paper on the walls?"\par
\par
"Yes."\par
\par
"You looked into the cellars?"\par
\par
"We did."\par
\par
"Then," I said, "you have been making a miscalculation, and the\par
letter is not upon the premises, as you suppose."\par
\par
"I fear you are right there," said the Prefect. "And now, Dupin, what\par
would you advise me to do?"\par
\par
"To make a thorough re-search of the premises."\par
\par
"That is absolutely needless," replied G--. "I am not more sure that\par
I breathe than I am that the letter is not at the Hotel."\par
\par
"I have no better advice to give you," said Dupin. "You have, of\par
course, an accurate description of the letter?"\par
\par
"Oh yes!" - And here the Prefect, producing a memorandum-book\par
proceeded to read aloud a minute account of the internal, and\par
especially of the external appearance of the missing document. Soon\par
after finishing the perusal of this description, he took his\par
departure, more entirely depressed in spirits than I had ever known\par
the good gentleman before. In about a month afterwards he paid us\par
another visit, and found us occupied very nearly as before. He took a\par
pipe and a chair and entered into some ordinary conversation. At\par
length I said, -\par
\par
"Well, but G--, what of the purloined letter? I presume you have at\par
last made up your mind that there is no such thing as overreaching\par
the Minister?"\par
\par
"Confound him, say I - yes; I made the re-examination, however, as\par
Dupin suggested - but it was all labor lost, as I knew it would be."\par
\par
"How much was the reward offered, did you say?" asked Dupin.\par
\par
"Why, a very great deal - a very liberal reward - I don't like to say\par
how much, precisely; but one thing I will say, that I wouldn't mind\par
giving my individual check for fifty thousand francs to any one who\par
could obtain me that letter. The fact is, it is becoming of more and\par
more importance every day; and the reward has been lately doubled. If\par
it were trebled, however, I could do no more than I have done."\par
\par
"Why, yes," said Dupin, drawlingly, between the whiffs of his\par
meerschaum, "I really - think, G--, you have not exerted yourself -\par
to the utmost in this matter. You might - do a little more, I think,\par
eh?"\par
\par
"How? - in what way?'\par
\par
"Why - puff, puff - you might - puff, puff - employ counsel in the\par
matter, eh? - puff, puff, puff. Do you remember the story they tell\par
of Abernethy?"\par
\par
"No; hang Abernethy!"\par
\par
"To be sure! hang him and welcome. But, once upon a time, a certain\par
rich miser conceived the design of spunging upon this Abernethy for a\par
medical opinion. Getting up, for this purpose, an ordinary\par
conversation in a private company, he insinuated his case to the\par
physician, as that of an imaginary individual.\par
\par
" 'We will suppose,' said the miser, 'that his symptoms are such and\par
such; now, doctor, what would you have directed him to take?'\par
\par
" 'Take!' said Abernethy, 'why, take advice, to be sure.' "\par
\par
"But," said the Prefect, a little discomposed, "I am perfectly\par
willing to take advice, and to pay for it. I would really give fifty\par
thousand francs to any one who would aid me in the matter."\par
\par
"In that case," replied Dupin, opening a drawer, and producing a\par
check-book, "you may as well fill me up a check for the amount\par
mentioned. When you have signed it, I will hand you the letter."\par
\par
I was astounded. The Prefect appeared absolutely thunder-stricken.\par
For some minutes he remained speechless and motionless, looking\par
incredulously at my friend with open mouth, and eyes that seemed\par
starting from their sockets; then, apparently recovering himself in\par
some measure, he seized a pen, and after several pauses and vacant\par
stares, finally filled up and signed a check for fifty thousand\par
francs, and handed it across the table to Dupin. The latter examined\par
it carefully and deposited it in his pocket-book; then, unlocking an\par
escritoire, took thence a letter and gave it to the Prefect. This\par
functionary grasped it in a perfect agony of joy, opened it with a\par
trembling hand, cast a rapid glance at its contents, and then,\par
scrambling and struggling to the door, rushed at length\par
unceremoniously from the room and from the house, without having\par
uttered a syllable since Dupin had requested him to fill up the\par
check.\par
\par
When he had gone, my friend entered into some explanations.\par
\par
"The Parisian police," he said, "are exceedingly able in their way.\par
They are persevering, ingenious, cunning, and thoroughly versed in\par
the knowledge which their duties seem chiefly to demand. Thus, when\par
G-- detailed to us his made of searching the premises at the Hotel\par
D--, I felt entire confidence in his having made a satisfactory\par
investigation - so far as his labors extended."\par
\par
"So far as his labors extended?" said I.\par
\par
"Yes," said Dupin. "The measures adopted were not only the best of\par
their kind, but carried out to absolute perfection. Had the letter\par
been deposited within the range of their search, these fellows would,\par
beyond a question, have found it."\par
\par
I merely laughed - but he seemed quite serious in all that he said.\par
\par
"The measures, then," he continued, "were good in their kind, and\par
well executed; their defect lay in their being inapplicable to the\par
case, and to the man. A certain set of highly ingenious resources\par
are, with the Prefect, a sort of Procrustean bed, to which he\par
forcibly adapts his designs. But he perpetually errs by being too\par
deep or too shallow, for the matter in hand; and many a schoolboy is\par
a better reasoner than he. I knew one about eight years of age, whose\par
success at guessing in the game of 'even and odd' attracted universal\par
admiration. This game is simple, and is played with marbles. One\par
player holds in his hand a number of these toys, and demands of\par
another whether that number is even or odd. If the guess is right,\par
the guesser wins one; if wrong, he loses one. The boy to whom I\par
allude won all the marbles of the school. Of course he had some\par
principle of guessing; and this lay in mere observation and\par
admeasurement of the astuteness of his opponents. For example, an\par
arrant simpleton is his opponent, and, holding up his closed hand,\par
asks, 'are they even or odd?' Our schoolboy replies, 'odd,' and\par
loses; but upon the second trial he wins, for he then says to\par
himself, 'the simpleton had them even upon the first trial, and his\par
amount of cunning is just sufficient to make him have them odd upon\par
the second; I will therefore guess odd;' - he guesses odd, and wins.\par
Now, with a simpleton a degree above the first, he would have\par
reasoned thus: 'This fellow finds that in the first instance I\par
guessed odd, and, in the second, he will propose to himself, upon the\par
first impulse, a simple variation from even to odd, as did the first\par
simpleton; but then a second thought will suggest that this is too\par
simple a variation, and finally he will decide upon putting it even\par
as before. I will therefore guess even;' - he guesses even, and wins.\par
Now this mode of reasoning in the schoolboy, whom his fellows termed\par
'lucky,' - what, in its last analysis, is it?"\par
\par
"It is merely," I said, "an identification of the reasoner's\par
intellect with that of his opponent."\par
\par
"It is," said Dupin; "and, upon inquiring, of the boy by what means\par
he effected the thorough identification in which his success\par
consisted, I received answer as follows: 'When I wish to find out how\par
wise, or how stupid, or how good, or how wicked is any one, or what\par
are his thoughts at the moment, I fashion the expression of my face,\par
as accurately as possible, in accordance with the expression of his,\par
and then wait to see what thoughts or sentiments arise in my mind or\par
heart, as if to match or correspond with the expression.' This\par
response of the schoolboy lies at the bottom of all the spurious\par
profundity which has been attributed to Rochefoucault, to La Bougive,\par
to Machiavelli, and to Campanella."\par
\par
"And the identification," I said, "of the reasoner's intellect with\par
that of his opponent, depends, if I understand you aright, upon the\par
accuracy with which the opponent's intellect is admeasured."\par
\par
"For its practical value it depends upon this," replied Dupin; "and\par
the Prefect and his cohort fail so frequently, first, by default of\par
this identification, and, secondly, by ill-admeasurement, or rather\par
through non-admeasurement, of the intellect with which they are\par
engaged. They consider only their own ideas of ingenuity; and, in\par
searching for anything hidden, advert only to the modes in which they\par
would have hidden it. They are right in this much - that their own\par
ingenuity is a faithful representative of that of the mass; but when\par
the cunning of the individual felon is diverse in character from\par
their own, the felon foils them, of course. This always happens when\par
it is above their own, and very usually when it is below. They have\par
no variation of principle in their investigations; at best, when\par
urged by some unusual emergency - by some extraordinary reward - they\par
extend or exaggerate their old modes of practice, without touching\par
their principles. What, for example, in this case of D--, has been\par
done to vary the principle of action? What is all this boring, and\par
probing, and sounding, and scrutinizing with the microscope and\par
dividing the surface of the building into registered square inches -\par
what is it all but an exaggeration of the application of the one\par
principle or set of principles of search, which are based upon the\par
one set of notions regarding human ingenuity, to which the Prefect,\par
in the long routine of his duty, has been accustomed? Do you not see\par
he has taken it for granted that all men proceed to conceal a letter,\par
- not exactly in a gimlet hole bored in a chair-leg - but, at least,\par
in some out-of-the-way hole or corner suggested by the same tenor of\par
thought which would urge a man to secrete a letter in a gimlet-hole\par
bored in a chair-leg? And do you not see also, that such recherch\'c3\'88s\par
nooks for concealment are adapted only for ordinary occasions, and\par
would be adopted only by ordinary intellects; for, in all cases of\par
concealment, a disposal of the article concealed - a disposal of it\par
in this recherch\'c3\'88 manner, - is, in the very first instance,\par
presumable and presumed; and thus its discovery depends, not at all\par
upon the acumen, but altogether upon the mere care, patience, and\par
determination of the seekers; and where the case is of importance -\par
or, what amounts to the same thing in the policial eyes, when the\par
reward is of magnitude, - the qualities in question have never been\par
known to fail. You will now understand what I meant in suggesting\par
that, had the purloined letter been hidden any where within the\par
limits of the Prefect's examination - in other words, had the\par
principle of its concealment been comprehended within the principles\par
of the Prefect - its discovery would have been a matter altogether\par
beyond question. This functionary, however, has been thoroughly\par
mystified; and the remote source of his defeat lies in the\par
supposition that the Minister is a fool, because he has acquired\par
renown as a poet. All fools are poets; this the Prefect feels; and he\par
is merely guilty of a non distributio medii in thence inferring that\par
all poets are fools."\par
\par
"But is this really the poet?" I asked. "There are two brothers, I\par
know; and both have attained reputation in letters. The Minister I\par
believe has written learnedly on the Differential Calculus. He is a\par
mathematician, and no poet."\par
\par
"You are mistaken; I know him well; he is both. As poet and\par
mathematician, he would reason well; as mere mathematician, he could\par
not have reasoned at all, and thus would have been at the mercy of\par
the Prefect."\par
\par
"You surprise me," I said, "by these opinions, which have been\par
contradicted by the voice of the world. You do not mean to set at\par
naught the well-digested idea of centuries. The mathematical reason\par
has long been regarded as the reason par excellence."\par
\par
" 'Il y a \'e2\'80\'a1 pari\'c3\'8br,' " replied Dupin, quoting from Chamfort, " 'que\par
toute id\'c3\'88e publique, toute convention re\'c3\'81ue est une sottise, car elle\par
a convenue au plus grand nombre.' The mathematicians, I grant you,\par
have done their best to promulgate the popular error to which you\par
allude, and which is none the less an error for its promulgation as\par
truth. With an art worthy a better cause, for example, they have\par
insinuated the term 'analysis' into application to algebra. The\par
French are the originators of this particular deception; but if a\par
term is of any importance - if words derive any value from\par
applicability - then 'analysis' conveys 'algebra' about as much as,\par
in Latin, 'ambitus' implies 'ambition,' 'religio' 'religion,' or\par
'homines honesti,' a set of honorablemen."\par
\par
"You have a quarrel on hand, I see," said I, "with some of the\par
algebraists of Paris; but proceed."\par
\par
"I dispute the availability, and thus the value, of that reason which\par
is cultivated in any especial form other than the abstractly logical.\par
I dispute, in particular, the reason educed by mathematical study.\par
The mathematics are the science of form and quantity; mathematical\par
reasoning is merely logic applied to observation upon form and\par
quantity. The great error lies in supposing that even the truths of\par
what is called pure algebra, are abstract or general truths. And this\par
error is so egregious that I am confounded at the universality with\par
which it has been received. Mathematical axioms are not axioms of\par
general truth. What is true of relation - of form and quantity - is\par
often grossly false in regard to morals, for example. In this latter\par
science it is very usually untrue that the aggregated parts are equal\par
to the whole. In chemistry also the axiom fails. In the consideration\par
of motive it fails; for two motives, each of a given value, have not,\par
necessarily, a value when united, equal to the sum of their values\par
apart. There are numerous other mathematical truths which are only\par
truths within the limits of relation. But the mathematician argues,\par
from his finite truths, through habit, as if they were of an\par
absolutely general applicability - as the world indeed imagines them\par
to be. Bryant, in his very learned 'Mythology,' mentions an analogous\par
source of error, when he says that 'although the Pagan fables are not\par
believed, yet we forget ourselves continually, and make inferences\par
from them as existing realities.' With the algebraists, however, who\par
are Pagans themselves, the 'Pagan fables' are believed, and the\par
inferences are made, not so much through lapse of memory, as through\par
an unaccountable addling of the brains. In short, I never yet\par
encountered the mere mathematician who could be trusted out of equal\par
roots, or one who did not clandestinely hold it as a point of his\par
faith that x2+px was absolutely and unconditionally equal to q. Say\par
to one of these gentlemen, by way of experiment, if you please, that\par
you believe occasions may occur where x2+px is not altogether equal\par
to q, and, having made him understand what you mean, get out of his\par
reach as speedily as convenient, for, beyond doubt, he will endeavor\par
to knock you down.\par
\par
"I mean to say," continued Dupin, while I merely laughed at his last\par
observations, "that if the Minister had been no more than a\par
mathematician, the Prefect would have been under no necessity of\par
giving me this check. I know him, however, as both mathematician and\par
poet, and my measures were adapted to his capacity, with reference to\par
the circumstances by which he was surrounded. I knew him as a\par
courtier, too, and as a bold intriguant. Such a man, I considered,\par
could not fail to be aware of the ordinary policial modes of action.\par
He could not have failed to anticipate - and events have proved that\par
he did not fail to anticipate - the waylayings to which he was\par
subjected. He must have foreseen, I reflected, the secret\par
investigations of his premises. His frequent absences from home at\par
night, which were hailed by the Prefect as certain aids to his\par
success, I regarded only as ruses, to afford opportunity for thorough\par
search to the police, and thus the sooner to impress them with the\par
conviction to which G--, in fact, did finally arrive - the conviction\par
that the letter was not upon the premises. I felt, also, that the\par
whole train of thought, which I was at some pains in detailing to you\par
just now, concerning the invariable principle of policial action in\par
searches for articles concealed - I felt that this whole train of\par
thought would necessarily pass through the mind of the Minister. It\par
would imperatively lead him to despise all the ordinary nooks of\par
concealment. He could not, I reflected, be so weak as not to see that\par
the most intricate and remote recess of his hotel would be as open as\par
his commonest closets to the eyes, to the probes, to the gimlets, and\par
to the microscopes of the Prefect. I saw, in fine, that he would be\par
driven, as a matter of course, to simplicity, if not deliberately\par
induced to it as a matter of choice. You will remember, perhaps, how\par
desperately the Prefect laughed when I suggested, upon our first\par
interview, that it was just possible this mystery troubled him so\par
much on account of its being so very self-evident."\par
\par
"Yes," said I, "I remember his merriment well. I really thought he\par
would have fallen into convulsions."\par
\par
"The material world," continued Dupin, "abounds with very strict\par
analogies to the immaterial; and thus some color of truth has been\par
given to the rhetorical dogma, that metaphor, or simile, may be made\par
to strengthen an argument, as well as to embellish a description. The\par
principle of the vis inerti\'c3\'8a, for example, seems to be identical in\par
physics and metaphysics. It is not more true in the former, that a\par
large body is with more difficulty set in motion than a smaller one,\par
and that its subsequent momentum is commensurate with this\par
difficulty, than it is, in the latter, that intellects of the vaster\par
capacity, while more forcible, more constant, and more eventful in\par
their movements than those of inferior grade, are yet the less\par
readily moved, and more embarrassed and full of hesitation in the\par
first few steps of their progress. Again: have you ever noticed which\par
of the street signs, over the shop- doors, are the most attractive of\par
attention?"\par
\par
"I have never given the matter a thought," I said.\par
\par
"There is a game of puzzles," he resumed, "which is played upon a\par
map. One party playing requires another to find a given word - the\par
name of town, river, state or empire - any word, in short, upon the\par
motley and perplexed surface of the chart. A novice in the game\par
generally seeks to embarrass his opponents by giving them the most\par
minutely lettered names; but the adept selects such words as stretch,\par
in large characters, from one end of the chart to the other. These,\par
like the over-largely lettered signs and placards of the street,\par
escape observation by dint of being excessively obvious; and here the\par
physical oversight is precisely analogous with the moral\par
inapprehension by which the intellect suffers to pass unnoticed those\par
considerations which are too obtrusively and too palpably\par
self-evident. But this is a point, it appears, somewhat above or\par
beneath the understanding of the Prefect. He never once thought it\par
probable, or possible, that the Minister had deposited the letter\par
immediately beneath the nose of the whole world, by way of best\par
preventing any portion of that world from perceiving it.\par
\par
"But the more I reflected upon the daring, dashing, and\par
discriminating ingenuity of D--; upon the fact that the document must\par
always have been at hand, if he intended to use it to good purpose;\par
and upon the decisive evidence, obtained by the Prefect, that it was\par
not hidden within the limits of that dignitary's ordinary search -\par
the more satisfied I became that, to conceal this letter, the\par
Minister had resorted to the comprehensive and sagacious expedient of\par
not attempting to conceal it at all.\par
\par
"Full of these ideas, I prepared myself with a pair of green\par
spectacles, and called one fine morning, quite by accident, at the\par
Ministerial hotel. I found D-- at home, yawning, lounging, and\par
dawdling, as usual, and pretending to be in the last extremity of\par
ennui. He is, perhaps, the most really energetic human being now\par
alive - but that is only when nobody sees him.\par
\par
"To be even with him, I complained of my weak eyes, and lamented the\par
necessity of the spectacles, under cover of which I cautiously and\par
thoroughly surveyed the whole apartment, while seemingly intent only\par
upon the conversation of my host.\par
\par
"I paid especial attention to a large writing-table near which he\par
sat, and upon which lay confusedly, some miscellaneous letters and\par
other papers, with one or two musical instruments and a few books.\par
Here, however, after a long and very deliberate scrutiny, I saw\par
nothing to excite particular suspicion.\par
\par
"At length my eyes, in going the circuit of the room, fell upon a\par
trumpery fillagree card-rack of pasteboard, that hung dangling by a\par
dirty blue ribbon, from a little brass knob just beneath the middle\par
of the mantel-piece. In this rack, which had three or four\par
compartments, were five or six visiting cards and a solitary letter.\par
This last was much soiled and crumpled. It was torn nearly in two,\par
across the middle - as if a design, in the first instance, to tear it\par
entirely up as worthless, had been altered, or stayed, in the second.\par
It had a large black seal, bearing the D-- cipher very conspicuously,\par
and was addressed, in a diminutive female hand, to D--, the minister,\par
himself. It was thrust carelessly, and even, as it seemed,\par
contemptuously, into one of the uppermost divisions of the rack.\par
\par
"No sooner had I glanced at this letter, than I concluded it to be\par
that of which I was in search. To be sure, it was, to all appearance,\par
radically different from the one of which the Prefect had read us so\par
minute a description. Here the seal was large and black, with the D--\par
cipher; there it was small and red, with the ducal arms of the S--\par
family. Here, the address, to the Minister, diminutive and feminine;\par
there the superscription, to a certain royal personage, was markedly\par
bold and decided; the size alone formed a point of correspondence.\par
But, then, the radicalness of these differences, which was excessive;\par
the dirt; the soiled and torn condition of the paper, so inconsistent\par
with the true methodical habits of D--, and so suggestive of a design\par
to delude the beholder into an idea of the worthlessness of the\par
document; these things, together with the hyper-obtrusive situation\par
of this document, full in the view of every visiter, and thus exactly\par
in accordance with the conclusions to which I had previously arrived;\par
these things, I say, were strongly corroborative of suspicion, in one\par
who came with the intention to suspect.\par
\par
"I protracted my visit as long as possible, and, while I maintained a\par
most animated discussion with the Minister upon a topic which I knew\par
well had never failed to interest and excite him, I kept my attention\par
really riveted upon the letter. In this examination, I committed to\par
memory its external appearance and arrangement in the rack; and also\par
fell, at length, upon a discovery which set at rest whatever trivial\par
doubt I might have entertained. In scrutinizing the edges of the\par
paper, I observed them to be more chafed than seemed necessary. They\par
presented the broken appearance which is manifested when a stiff\par
paper, having been once folded and pressed with a folder, is refolded\par
in a reversed direction, in the same creases or edges which had\par
formed the original fold. This discovery was sufficient. It was clear\par
to me that the letter had been turned, as a glove, inside out,\par
re-directed, and re-sealed. I bade the Minister good morning, and\par
took my departure at once, leaving a gold snuff-box upon the table.\par
\par
"The next morning I called for the snuff-box, when we resumed, quite\par
eagerly, the conversation of the preceding day. While thus engaged,\par
however, a loud report, as if of a pistol, was heard immediately\par
beneath the windows of the hotel, and was succeeded by a series of\par
fearful screams, and the shoutings of a terrified mob. D-- rushed to\par
a casement, threw it open, and looked out. In the meantime, I stepped\par
to the card-rack took the letter, put it in my pocket, and replaced\par
it by a fac-simile, (so far as regards externals,) which I had\par
carefully prepared at my lodgings - imitating the D-- cipher, very\par
readily, by means of a seal formed of bread.\par
\par
"The disturbance in the street had been occasioned by the frantic\par
behavior of a man with a musket. He had fired it among a crowd of\par
women and children. It proved, however, to have been without ball,\par
and the fellow was suffered to go his way as a lunatic or a drunkard.\par
When he had gone, D-- came from the window, whither I had followed\par
him immediately upon securing the object in view. Soon afterwards I\par
bade him farewell. The pretended lunatic was a man in my own pay."\par
\par
"But what purpose had you," I asked, "in replacing the letter by a\par
fac-simile? Would it not have been better, at the first visit, to\par
have seized it openly, and departed?"\par
\par
"D--," replied Dupin, "is a desperate man, and a man of nerve. His\par
hotel, too, is not without attendants devoted to his interests. Had I\par
made the wild attempt you suggest, I might never have left the\par
Ministerial presence alive. The good people of Paris might have heard\par
of me no more. But I had an object apart from these considerations.\par
You know my political prepossessions. In this matter, I act as a\par
partisan of the lady concerned. For eighteen months the Minister has\par
had her in his power. She has now him in hers - since, being unaware\par
that the letter is not in his possession, he will proceed with his\par
exactions as if it was. Thus will he inevitably commit himself, at\par
once, to his political destruction. His downfall, too, will not be\par
more precipitate than awkward. It is all very well to talk about the\par
facilis descensus Averni; but in all kinds of climbing, as Catalani\par
said of singing, it is far more easy to get up than to come down. In\par
the present instance I have no sympathy - at least no pity - for him\par
who descends. He is that monstrum horrendum, an unprincipled man of\par
genius. I confess, however, that I should like very well to know the\par
precise character of his thoughts, when, being defied by her whom the\par
Prefect terms 'a certain personage' he is reduced to opening the\par
letter which I left for him in the card-rack."\par
\par
"How? did you put any thing particular in it?"\par
\par
"Why - it did not seem altogether right to leave the interior blank -\par
that would have been insulting. D--, at Vienna once, did me an evil\par
turn, which I told him, quite good-humoredly, that I should remember.\par
So, as I knew he would feel some curiosity in regard to the identity\par
of the person who had outwitted him, I thought it a pity not to give\par
him a clue. He is well acquainted with my MS., and I just copied into\par
the middle of the blank sheet the words -\par
\par
" '-- -- Un dessein si funeste, S'il n'est digne d'Atr\'c3\'88e, est digne\par
de Thyeste.\par
\par
They are to be found in Crebillon's 'Atr\'c3\'88e.' "\par
\par
~~~ End of Text ~~~\par
\par
}
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